July 31, 2013

I Love Protected Bike Lanes

Momentum Mag spent two hours during evening rush hour watching and talking to the diverse people riding by on the 2nd Avenue protected bike lane.

Written by: Guest

bike infrastructure Biking in New York City

On May 7, 2013, Momentum Mag spent two hours during evening rush hour watching and talking to the diverse people riding by on the 2nd Avenue protected bike lane.

Those we stopped shared their experiences of riding in a protected bike lane and of riding in New York City.

All photos by Dmitry Gudkov.

3 Comments

Marcus Nielson
August 2, 2013
Here in Minneapolis and I’m sure in NYC the ability to plow the bike lane/path is one issue that isn’t always considered by bike advocates. Our buffered bike lane is defined more by plastic bollards for a block (I don’t know why they are not used on the whole length)- easy to remove when the snow flies. That maybe why, in addition to cost, that they decided to use the arrangement they did. Unfortunately I don’t see our buffered bike lanes on 1st ave north becoming protected any time soon- we may have to fight just to keep what we have. Even though Minneapolis is one of the top cities for bike-friendliness, we yet have a *real* cycle track. But thankfully there is serious talk for a few locations of one or more!
Marcus Nielson
August 2, 2013
I haven’t been in NYC for a long time *sigh*, but this bike lane looks a lot like the lane we have here in Minneapolis on 1st ave north. Problem is it isn’t very popular with really anyone (I don’t mind it). One thing that I think would help is if we had something physical, besides paint on the ground, that separates the bike lane from parking cars. Cars park in the bike all the time and pedestrians walk in the bike lane all the time. Buffered does not equal separated and not everyone loves bike lanes
- Dunacn Hurd
  August 2, 2013
  Good point, Marcus, there are certainly limitations to paint. A major consideration to make is that in order to create the largest change at a relatively low cost New York and many other cities have focused on paint. While paint isn’t permanent, once users are used to the new setup making the case for raised and properly separated infrastructure, and the costs associated with them, will be much easier.